The playoff March begins

The Ely Timberwolves will be underdogs - perhaps big underdogs - when they open Section 7AA high school boys basketball tournament action Thursday at Duluth.Seedings were determined over the weekend and it appeared that the Wolves, 13-9 after a pair of wins last week, would be seeded either sixth or seventh among eight teams in the east half of 7AA.That forces a formidable first-round matchup, as either Moose Lake-Willow River (20-6) or Duluth Marshall (18-6) loom as the probable foe at Duluth Central High School. If the Wolves are seventh, they’ll face Duluth Marshall at 7:45. They’ll meet Moose Lake-Willow River at 6 p.m. if they draw the sixth seed.But no matter the game time or opponent, Ely figures to have a difficult time Wednesday.Both opponents are on a short list of legitimate contenders for the 7AA title.“We’re going to have to play error free basketball and shoot well to be in the game with whoever we play,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. “Whoever we play is probably going to be more athletic than us. The defense will be key. We have to find the right defense to subdue them.”Ely heads into the tournament on a bit of a roll.The Wolves won consecutive games the weekend of Feb. 18-19, destroying Chisholm 66-41 at home and then winning 59-43 at Littlefork-Big Falls.Senior Tim Scott continued his historic season, pulling down his 1,000th career rebound early in the game against the Bluestreaks (see related story) and becoming just the 11th player in Minnesota prep history to reach 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds during his career.Scott had 37 points and 16 rebounds against the Bluestreaks, and the Wolves were methodical in taking care of their opponent.Ely led 19-10 after one quarter and gradually built the lead to 20 points early in the fourth quarter.And after a nine-point Chisholm run cut the gap to 52-41 with six minutes left, Ely scored the last 14 points of the game to pull away.Scott drained six three-pointers and teammate Eric McDonald added four to finish with 19 points. Nick Furnstahl and Mike Popesh added nine points each.For the Wolves, it was only their third win in 15 seasons against Chisholm (6-18) and coach Bob McDonald, the state’s all-time leader in wins and the father of Ely’s head coach.“It was nice to get a win against them,” said Tom McDonald. “Those have been few and far between. He (Bob McDonald) just doesn’t have the horses this year.”A fast start helped propel the Wolves against Littlefork-Big Falls.Ely led 20-7 after one quarter and 37-22 at the half, and that margin held up.Eric McDonald hit seven of the Wolves’ 10 three-pointers and finished with 21 points. Scott also scored 21 while Furnstahl contributed nine points.Aaron Erickson had 13 points for Littlefork-Big Falls (9-13).• The Wolves were set to take on Duluth Marshall Friday night in their regular season finale.• Tom McDonald predicts a wide-open 7AA tournament.“I think there are probably four or five teams thinking they have a shot,” he said. “Crosby-Ironton would be first on the other side but their status is up in the air (because of a teachers strike). Any of the top three on our side (Virginia, Duluth Marshall, Moose Lake-Willow River) will be up there and maybe Eveleth-Gilbert too. And I think Deer River is capable.”• In Section 7A, playoff action begins today with games at home sites.Babbitt-Embarrass (5-17) is likely to be at Orr in a rematch of a regular season game won by the Braves, 62-55 in overtime.The Knights have improved in recent weeks, upsetting Littlefork-Big Falls 77-68 last Tuesday behind 24 points from senior Zach Blomberg.Matt Goedderz, a 6-1 junior had 17 points and nine rebounds in that game and has been pivotal as B-E bounced back from an 0-8 start.The winner between the Knights and the Braves advances to play Tower-Soudan (19-3), which has relied heavily on 6-10 center Steve Jamnick.Jamnick, headed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth on a basketball scholarship, is one of just two starters back from a Tower-Soudan team that was ranked first in Class A for most of 2003-2004 before finishing 25-2 and winding up second in 7A. Junior guard Jesse Quick is another key player for the Golden Eagles, led by 10th-year head coach Patrick Hiltunen.